Sword Of The Nightengale

Ch.1

"Justin slow down!" I said as I pummeled through the woods.
We were currently chasing down a wild turkey and Justin was so far ahead I could hardly see him anymore. I heard a loud gobbling noise and barely had time to catch my breath before he reappeared at my side with the turkey's neck hanging limp between his fangs.
He dropped it at my feet, catching the blood trickling down his chin with his finger before smearing it on his lips and licking them clean.
"You know, you really need to get better at this part of the job." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down at me.
"Not all of us have super speed, well not me anyways." I tried to move the leather vest that was sticking to my skin to distract myself from the lump forming in my throat.
Justin just smiled and extended his arms out, "The great protector ladies and gentlemen."
"Oh shut up. Why do we always have to wear leather?" I ask, again trying to un glue the leather from my skin.
"Because it's breathable, durable, water resistant, gives an extra bit of protection, easy to clean." He winked at the last point, " and not to mention incredibly sexy." His hands glided down his leather chest plate to prove the point.
"Your unbelievable."
"Oh,I know. Now grab the turkey chosen one. Half for me, half for Harley and you miss carnivore, get the meat."
The turkey wasn't that heavy as I slung it over my shoulder and prepared to take it to the village drainer.
"Thanks whitely."
"No problem snowflake. OH and don't forget there's a council assembly at 6." And with that he was gone.
It took me around 15 minutes to get out of the wooded area and soon enough I was back on the ashy soil I called home. Therpine was once a large beautiful city from what I've heard but since the great fire it's been reduced to thrown together huts and crumbling buildings.
I passed several houses as I made my way into the square which is by far the nicest part of the town. There's a big fire pit in the center used for ceremonial rituals and shops and stands circling around it. I got a few looks as I walked past, which was nothing new, yet I still lowered my head instinctively.
When I was younger I was always afraid someone would pounce on me and that would be the end of things. To be fair Harley was afraid of the same thing which didn't exactly help but the council ordered for me to be left alone and no one disobeys the council.
When I saw the thirst curer sign hanging above the door of the dingy wooden hut I knew I had made it to the right place. I opened the door with my turkey free hand and entered the shop.
The shelves were emptier then the last time I was in, but were still lined with different types of animal blood for sale.
"Well If it isn't the black sheep. Drop off or drain?"
"Drain please."
Mr. Carthin was a stout older man who didn't like me very much. Despite his prejudice I was never over charged.
I placed the turkey on the counter and let him examine it. His hands grabbed the neck as his eyes went to the killing blow.
"Justin helping you yet again?" He sneered as he turned to get the equipment. "Some protector you are, can't even hunt."
"I'm working on it."
"Aren't you lot suppose to be 'one with nature' use your freak powers to call the damn thing to you."
"I don't think it works like that."
He scoffed as he handed me the two bottles and the turkey, "That's 6 drec."
I placed the money on the counter then took my leave.
As I walked home I dropped one of the bottles off at Justin's house. He lived three houses down from the councils block and as the designated hunter he was required to be at the meeting earlier then the rest of us.
I live in the first house you see as you enter the town with Harley Topwells. She found me in a basket when I was a baby and has been a motherly figure to me ever since.
I had just placed my feet on the doorstep when the door swung open and there she was.
"Winter dear I've been waiting for you. I wanted you to be able to eat something before the meeting. We don't want to be late like the last time. We have to keep making good impressions or who knows what could happen. I laid fresh leathers on your bed." She told me all this as she ushered me in the house and to my room.
"Wait! Wait, here's the bottle for you." I said when I noticed I was still carrying all the stuff.
"Thank you dear your always very considerate now I'll take this..." she took the turkey from me examining the neck, clearly noticing what Mr.Carthin did as well. "I'll cook some of it up for you while you change."
My room is simple with a bed, dresser and a few other cabinets to hold my things. The leathers I'd wear to council meetings are similar to my everyday ones but with a bit more elegance. The top drops into a low V-neck while the pants flare out instead of being fully fitted.
It's a vampire tradition to get a tattoo of the redvark arrow that was used against the Fae in the battle of Elipsis on the night of your 16th birthday. Even though the vampires lost, the arrow still represented dominance over the enemy. After Vulcan rose to power out of betrayal it became a promise of revenge as well.
Getting the tattoo was a public announcement of your loyalty to the clan and those who refused it were banished. There was debate on whether or not I should be granted the marking considering the fact I'm not of their kind but the council ruled in favor of the decision.
I wasn't granted permission of choosing the location of where it would be placed and ended up getting the arrow tattooed on the left side of my neck with the arrow tip pointing towards my heart. This is suppose to show that my heart fully belongs to the cause. No one else in the clan has the tattoo on the neck for purposes of not being easily detected. Between the oddly placed tattoo and ash white hair it was no wonder people looked at me funny. The council said I may not be one of them but I could belong to them.
I fixed my braid, ate and then headed off to the decaying assembly hall.
There was no roof left on the building but the walls were just high enough to provide shelter from the wind. The council sat in elaborate wooden chairs on top of what was left of the stage. They each wore leathers but all wore thick red capes to show there status. Three members made up the council. Counselor Gizem, a petite women with long brown hair, Counselor Elama, a tall blonde male and Counselor Rune, a bald man of medium stature. He was the oldest of the counselors and the one you had to be the most weary of.
I took a seat in the back next to Harley and while everyone was piling into the hall I looked around the room to see if I could find Justin.
He was standing to the right side of the stage next to the other hunters. His council attire wasn't much different from his regular get up but had more pockets for weapon storage and his chest plate was  decked out with badges he earned from the council. When his eyes met mine he gave a slight nod and when all three counselors rose, with Gizem opening the meeting, I braced myself.
"Greetings everyone. I would say thank you all for coming but as we all know these are not optional. If you are apart of this clan you must remain updated for the benefit of all . I will now be passing your attention to Counselor Rune." And with that she took her seat.
"Greetings. Today marks the anniversary of when a better way of life was stripped out from underneath us by Draid Vulcan." A series of boo's and discontented gruffs arose from the crowd. "Not to mention the destruction of our once beautiful territory and the burning of our sacred Rodvark trees. We have Vulcan what he wanted, a dagger made out of the wood to kill his brother 'The Nightengale'. All we asked for in exchange was a monthly supply of Druid blood. As we all know we can not reach our full capabilities without it. The magic and energy that flows through there blood is like no other. But were we given our side of the bargain?" Several no's erupted from the crowd. "That is why I say we go cash the prize in ourselves."
  There was a few seconds pause before a man in the crowd stood up, "my supreme, pardon the interruption but isn't that what started the first war? Wanting to get more access to droid blood. How would this time be different?"
Rune straightened his cloak before continuing,"I will be putting together a team of our best warriors. They will infiltrate Elipsis this time leaving no trail in there path. They will learn everything there is to know about the city, about Vulcan and then WE will be the ones to userpt the throne. We would have full power, full control. We will no longer be weakened by a thing we have control over."
The crowd was a mix of silence and cheers and as my pulse was beating in my ears I took a chance to study to counselors faces. Rune looked proud, Gizem satisfied but Elama, he didn't know this was going to happen. And by the look on Justin's face neither did he.
Rune cleared his throat to try to regain the audience's attention, "Which brings us to the main event, who will our lucky warriors be? Let's get a round of applause for Dalim Vadkor.....Griffin Johan....Kalindi Peters"
Kalindi. I knew her we were friends all through grade school. She would be a great asset yes but she didn't deserve to be put in that kind of danger. If she was caught in Droid territory...
"Orian Maltive.....Justin Whitely...."
I was both shocked and I wasn't. When I looked over and met Justin's eyes I could tell he wasn't expecting for this to be how the meeting went tonight yet, he accepted the applause. And as counselor Rune kept listing names all I could think about was if he was caught. It was Harleys voice in my ear that snapped me out of my downward spiral, "Let's go. Come on." She had just grabbed my arm to stand up and leave when...
"Last but most certainly not least, Winter Topwells."
At my name all applause ceased.
"Can she really be trusted?" Said an older vamp in the front.
"She's not even vamp she's one of them." Said a girl in the third row.
I just sat back down but Harley stayed standing, " She most certainly is one of us I-"
"Ms.Topwell I'm only going to ask you once, take your seat." The order came from Counselor Gizem and at that she reluctantly obeyed.
"Everyone Miss Winters has been with us ever since Ms. Topwells found her and brought her to us. She's sworn her oath. Need proof? Look at her neck. We all know how powerful the druids are and we have one amount us, raised by our customs, shaped by our morals." Rune said while straightening his red cloak again.
"She hasn't even learned how to use whatever power she might have how do we know she's even got any?" Of course that question came from Mr.Carthin.
"All druids have the capability for magic. Hers will be unlocked one way or the other.
"If she doesn't can we finally eat her?" The question came from the same girl in the third row. She sounded around my age but when I went to get a look at her face Justin had a hand around her throat and was blocking my view.
"Why don't we eat you instead." He growled
"ENOUGH!" Strangely enough the voice came from Counselor Elama.
Justin dropped the girl her gasps as she tried to get air into her lungs filled the room. Two of the other hunters sped to his side but before they could lay a hand on him he stalked through the doors and far away from the chaos. They were about to go after him when Elama spoke again,
"Let him burn off steam. The last thing we need is to loose a hunter right now and I'm not talking about loosing Justin." The two other hunters exchanged a glance before returning back to there positions at the right of the stage.
"There will be no eating anyone. Powerless or not. We are all part of this clan. Our job is to protect one another. Trust me, if I had known tonight would have taken this turn this meeting would have been conducted differently." He exchanged a look with Rune that seemed to say we will speak later before dismissing the crowd.
"We should go back to the house and talk this over." Harley said.
"I'll meet you back there in awhile. I need to go find Justin."
She gave an understanding nod and I pushed through the crowd knowing exactly where I was heading.
It had gotten far cooler then it was when the meeting began. That or I still had chills. The counselors has always discussed issues together then weighted in the hunters opinions afterward. The treaty would have been reasonable if met but taking over another territory just to turn all the people into dinner wasn't right.
The woods had an eerie feel to them tonight and as I went deeper and deeper in I still saw no sign of Justin. This area is one of the few that survived the fire and we have always viewed it as a safe haven. I was just about to turn back when I heard the snapping of a branch.
I had just enough time to back up before Justin was right in front of me standing so close I could feel his breath on my cheek.
"Oh it's you." He said as he backed up a few steps.
"Try not to sound so thrilled." I teased,trying to lighten the mood. But he kept his eyes glued to the ground. "I came to check on you. I figured you might be here."
"I'm fine the real question is are you? That bitch had no right to say to you what she did. Your just as much apart of this as the rest of us." He said sitting down and leaning against one of the tree trunks. I joined him keeping a healthy distance.
"Did you know?" I whispered.
"No,no I didn't."
"What do you think about..all of it?"
"I think that our people are owed what we agreed to but this isn't the way we should go about retrieving it."
"Are you gonna do it?"
"Do what?"
"Be one of the pawns in this, go for this goal of Runes."
"I don't think we really have a choice."
"We always have a choice."
"These are our people Winter. We signed an oath."
"But what good is it to help a cause you don't believe in?"
His green eyes bore right into my soul as he whispered, " Your not thinking about committing treason are you? Your names on the list, the Counselors requested it, you signed an oath. You go against that you go against the clan. That won't end well."
When I didn't respond he grabbed my left hand and turned me to face him, " You do that and there's never any coming back. You leave this all behind." I couldn't help but wonder if that last line had another meaning. "Just stay, come with me. I can protect you until you unlock whatever it is they want. I'm sure they will come to there senses and realize how crazy this plan is. Hell, we lost the war WITH the arrows. Even if we manage to seize the palace we will be severely outnumbered and out skilled. Unless the Counselors know something we don't. I'm sure they will think of something else."
"Ok."
"Ok? As in...."
"I'll stay."
"Ok." He stood up pulling me with him and wrapped me into a hug. When we broke apart he held my gaze a second longer as If there was something else he was gonna say but then ran a hand through his dark hair and turned around, " I'll bring you home hop on."
No matter how many times I experience it, traveling that way always makes me feel motion sick I don't know how everyone does it. Soon enough we were at my house.
"Here you are." He said as he let me slide off his back onto the creaky wooden porch.
"Thanks Whitley."
"No problem snowflake." He gave me one last smile before he was off again.
I had just reached the handle of the door when I felt arms grab me and a hand go over my nose and mouth before everything went black.